Holy Ghost Prep graduates its Class of 2017

Holy Ghost Preparatory School graduated 115 seniors at its commencement exercises on Saturday, June 3 on the campus lawn behind Cornwells Hall.

During the ceremony, students were recognized for their accomplishments and were reminded that they will always be brothers not only with members of the Class of 2017 but with all other Holy Ghost Prep graduates.

“Today, you will become members of the unique branch of the Holy Ghost Prep family tree called alumni,” said Holy Ghost Prep President Gregory J. Geruson ’79. “We are a brotherhood that is blessed and united by our mission, by our common experience of the seven Core Components of a Spiritan School, and by the Holy Spirit.”

Besides Geruson, the other featured graduation speakers were valedictorian Luke Profy and Ed Walsh, a 1995 HGP graduate who has been a successful communications adviser to senior leaders in business and government for nearly 20 years.

Profy cited the orientation candle the group had received just prior to their freshman year as “the first uniform bond we shared as a brotherhood” and then wove the theme of light throughout his speech.

“Our flames will burn as we walk down the path one last time together, as we drive away, as we board trains and planes to travel the country and the world next year as we head off to college,” said Profy. “It only takes a spark to ignite a fire. We must be that spark for others and set the world ablaze.”

In a perfectly constructed commencement address, Walsh told the graduates how HGP had prepared him to work on the White House speechwriting staff for former President George W. Bush at the age of 25 and advised them that their HGP education would serve them well too.

“The years ahead are going to be exciting for you. And you’re ready for them,” Walsh told the graduating seniors. “Exactly where you’re going may seem unclear right now. But as you find subjects that motivate you in the classroom, and you gain experiences and meet new people outside the classroom, you’ll start to figure it out. Twenty-two years removed from my graduation, I know I don’t have it all figured out. But I’ve had a lot of great experiences along the way. And I owe it to the Holy Ghost education that we all share.”

Salutatorian Justin Letizia delivered his address the evening before at the beautiful Baccalaureate Mass. In his salutatorian speech, Letizia reflected on the shared milestones that the Class of 2017 had accomplished at Holy Ghost Prep before examining what lies within HGP’s latest graduating class.

During the graduation ceremony, special prizes and awards were presented to the following graduating seniors: